Vacuum cleaner



Oct. 8, 1957 A. B. BRADLEY VACUUM CLEANER Filed July 28. 1955 INVENTOR.Y fir acidw'onfiallard I BY , fl f v United States Patent VACUUM CLEANERAddison Ballard Bradley, Glenview, Ill., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of DelawareApplication July 28, 1955, Serial No. 524,920

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-24) This invention relates to a removable closuremember for an exhaust opening in a vacuum cleaner.

Vacuum cleaners of the tank or canister type customarily have an exhaustair opening in one wall portion of the cleaner that is adapted toreceive the end of a hose when the cleaner is used for blowing purposes.When the cleaner is used to perform its normal cleaning function, thisopening is preferably closed and the air exhausted through a series ofdifiusing openings in order to avoid a strong concentrated blast ofexhaust air.

The closure member for this exhaust opening is often difficult to removeas it must be tightly held in place so that the internal air pressurewill not accidentally force the closure member form the opening When theapparatus is functioning as a vacuum cleaner. It must not only besecurely held in position, but must also be easily removable when it isdesirable to operate the cleaner as a blower.

The principal feature of this invention is to provide an improvedclosure member for such an exhaust opening that is easily inserted inplace, is firmly held in place at least partially by the force of theinternal air pressure, and is easily removed when such is desired.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of one embodiment thereof taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a canister type vacuum cleanerembodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation, taken substantially alongline 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the closure member of thisinvention.

. The vacuum cleaner shown in the accompanying drawings comprises anouter casing having an upper portion 10a and a lower portion 10b and aremovable cover 11 provided with a handle 12. The upper casing portion10a is provided with an inlet opening 13 of the customary type.

In order to draw air in through the inlet opening 13, the apparatus maybe provided with a conventional motor and fan unit illustrated by themotor 15 located within the lower casing section 101; and themulti-stage fan 16 located at the bottom of the upper casing portion 10aand the top of the lower casing portion 10b.

Located in the bottom casing portion 10b and surrounding the motor 15 isan inner shell 17 having essentially the shape of an inverted cup. Thisshell 17 has an outwardly extending annular rim 17a positioned betweenand attached to the adjacent edge portions of the upper and lower casingportions 10a and 10b in the customary manner. The upper casing portion10a is adapted to have a depending flange 10h for retaining a rubberbumper 27. The shell 17 is adapted to support the motor and fan unit inthe customary manner and during normal operation of the apparatus theinterior of the shell is under air pressure due to air drawn in through2,808,957 Patented Oct. 8, 1957 the inlet opening 13, into the fan 16and exhausted through and around the motor 15.

In order to vent this air pressure within the shell 17, the shell isprovided with an opening 17b with the edge of this opening covered by aresilient gasket 18. Thus, during the operation of the apparatus airwill flow from within the shell 17 through the opening 17b.

In the upper part of the lower casing portion 10b there is provided aplurality of first exhaust openings through which air is exhausted whenthe apparatus is operating as a suction cleaner. The lower casingportion 10b is also provided with a second exhaust opening that issubstantially aligned with the shell opening 17b. This second exhaustopening is defined by the inwardly extending flange 10g and air isexhausted through this second opening when the apparatus is operated asa blower.

Extending between the shell 17 and lower casing portion 10b is a conduittube 19. The inner portion 19a of this conduit tube extends inwardlythrough the opening 17b and is sealed to the shell 17 by means of thegasket 18. The outer portion 19b of the conduit 19 is of larger diameterthan the inner portion 19a and is arranged substantially concentricthereto. This outer portion 19b is provided with an outwardly extendingannular flange which is fastened to the inner surface of the lowercasing portion 10b. The lower casing portion at the area surrounding theopening 10d is recessed as indicated at 10e.

The outer conduit portion 19b is provided with a plurality of openings19d, each of relatively large diameter and substantiallycircumferentially arranged around the outer conduit portion 19b.

In order to close the outer end of the conduit 19 when the apparatus isbeing used as a vacuum cleaner, there is provided a removable closuremember, here shown as a removable flexible elastic body 20 of generallyconcavo-convex shape. The flexible body is provided with an outwardlyextending annular flange 20a adapted to be located within the recessedpart 10a of the casing with the concave portion of the closure memberfacing outwardly.

When the closure member 20 is in place the apparatus is operable as avacuum cleaner. Thus, dirt-laden air may be drawn in through the opening13 and clean air from which the dirt has been separated in the customarymanner exhausted through the tube 19, through the circumferentialopenings 19d and through the first exhaust openings 100 into theatmosphere.

When the apparatus is operated as a blower, the member 20 is removed anda conventional blower tube (not shown) is inserted. This construction isdisclosed in the copending application of Clarence E. Hansen, SerialNumber 486,431, filed February 7, 1955, now Patent No. 2,759,659.

The closure member 20, which is a flexible elastic body of generallycup-shape, has a side 20]) adapted to engage the wall portion 10gdefining the exhaust opening, and a normally inwardly extending flexibleconcavo-convex bottom portion 20:: located inwardly of the side 20b withthe convex side of this bottom being adjacent to the interior of thecleaner. This side 20b is preferably essentially cylindrical, as isillustrated in Figure 2.

The closure member 20 has an outer edge provided with the annular flange2011 which is adapted to be located adjacent to the outer surface of thewall portion of the cleaner that defines the opening. In the embodimentshown, this flange 20a is adapted to be located within the recessed wallportion 10e. The closure member is also provided with an inwardlyextending annular flange 20d that is opposite to the flange 20a. Thisinner flange 20d assists in removing the closure member as it may beeasily grasped by curling the tip of a finger around this inner flange20d and into the space between the flange 20d and the side 20b. Theinterior of the closure member is provided with an annular groove 202located at the corner formed by the juncture of the bottom 20c and theside 2012. This serves to make the closure member more flexible at thisarea.

The closure member, which is preferably made of a rubbery material,either natural or synthetic in nature, such as ordinary vulcanizednatural rubber, is flexible yet is strong enough to be self-supporting.The closure member has a number of new and unobvious advantages. Thus,by locating the concavo-convex portion 20c inwardly of the side 2% withthe convex surface facing the interior of the cleaner, the usualinternal air pressure serves to lock the closure member more firmly inplace. This is true because the internal air pressure tends to urge thebottom portion 20c into a plane, thereby urging the side 20b of theclosure member outwardly and holding it firmly against the surface g.Thus, the internal air pressure helps lock the closure member in place.

The closure member being distortable can be inserted quite easily merelyby pushing on the inner surface of the portion b. This tends to distortthe bottom toward the interior of the cleaner and thus to draw the side20b inwardly. The advantages of the closure member of this inventionhave been found to be particularly useful when used in exhaust openingsof relatively large size. With these large openings, it has been foundthat an ordinary plug, such as a solid stopper, is completelyunsatisfactory as either it fails to remain in place when subjected tothe internal air pressure or fits so very tightly that it is difiicultto remove after a period of time.

The conduit tube 19 and associated structure disclosed herein also aredisclosed and specifically claimed in the copending application ofClarence E. Hansen, Serial Number 486,431, filed February 7, 1955, nowPatent No. 2,759,659.

Having described my invention as related to the embodiment shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is my intention that the invention be notlimited by any of the details of description, unless otherwisespecified, but

rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out inthe accompanying claim.

I claim:

A removable closure member for an exhaust opening defined by a wallportion of a vacuum cleaner subjected to internal air pressure,comprising: a flexible elastic body of generally cup-shape having agenerally cylindrical side adapted to engage the wall portion definingsaid opening and a normally inwardly extending flexible concavoconvexbottom located inwardly of said side with the convex side being adjacentto the interior of the cleaner, said bottom being of substantialthickness throughout to maintain its concavo-convex shape when subjectedto said internal air pressure, the force of the air pressure within thecleaner when said closure member is in place thereby urging the flexiblebottom outwardly toward but not to a flattened position to transmit saidforce to press said side firmly into sealing engagement with said wallportion yet permit easy removal of said closure member, the innersurface of said cup-shaped closure member being provided with an annulargroove adjacent to the juncture of said side and said bottom, therebyreducing the thickness and increasing the flexibility of the closuremember in the area of said groove, the outer peripheral edge of saidside of the elastic body on the end thereof opposite to said bottombeing provided with an annular outwardly directed flange adapted to seatagainst the outer surface of said wall portion and an annular inwardlydirected flange located outwardly beyond the said peripheral annularflange and of substantial width for aid in grasping the closure memberwith a finger tip for ready removal thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,099,055 Ferngren Nov. 16, 1937 2,396,035 Billing Mar. 5, 19462,669,370 Royall Feb. 16, 1954 2,693,892 Guinet Nov. 9, 1954 FOREIGNPATENTS 661,829 Great Britain Nov. 28, 1951

